hungrier closer to maintaining?

britkneemeyer

So i have gotten down to a healthy weight and am pretty close to maintaining. I've been noticing though i'm much hungrier then before. I started out on mfp eating 1400 calories and being full pretty much every day and never needing to go over. Now weirdly enough I'm finding myself hungry unless i hit 1500-1800. Is there any sense in the theory that this is my bodes way of going into maintenance? Did anyone else get hungrier as they got smaller?

RaggedyPond

1 lb weight loss a week has become torture. I had to change it to .5 for the last stretch and it is nice.

jenna808

Same thing happened to me. I'm getting close to maintenance and I swear the more I up my calories the hungrier I get!

heybales

What kind of workouts are you doing, and have you noticed doing them more intense?

The closer to maintenance, the better improvements the body can make, that requires even extra energy, besides the fact some of those improvements need more energy anyway.

Something even as simple as getting your stored glycogen with attached water back up to normal levels - the body spends extra energy dealing with intracellular water, increased metabolism.

Now the more sad effect is the body does seem to want to get your amount of fat back up to prior level, and increasing hunger is one way.
So don't give in.

kagevf

eating whole foods keeps you full more longer. meat and more meat.
i push my last meal close to bed time to cut snacking

matuskap

The better shape you have, tho more calories you can take in for maintenance. Body works better and burns more even when you sit in from of a tv if you workout regularly. Calories are needed to repair more, increase in muscle density affects your intake too... So if that calorie number you used so far is old, i would reconsider changing it to something more accurate.

If you stop cutting weight, start maintaining and are still hungry without putting on weight and fear ull get fat if you increase cals: try to concentrate on Fiber and Sugar tracking. Sugar(not carbohydrates, just sugar) as low as possible, and fiber as high as possible. It will force you to eat more whole foods and vegetables. Especially if you eat 3/4 of sugar allowance in form of fruit. Then you have none left for bad foods. Works for me. I am on 2600 cal and i always get at least 60g of fiber and no more than 70g of sugar which is mostly fruits.

AnneMousey

For maintenance, you should figure out your basal metabolic rate, based on your activity level, age, and sex. Then add,
say 300-500 calories to that for how much to eat each day, and just exercise off that many calories doing cardio. You will maintain, and not feel hungry.

JesterMFP

Appetite has a lot to do with hormones. Undereating can suppress your apetite.

meankeen

eating whole foods keeps you full more longer. meat and more meat.
i push my last meal close to bed time to cut snacking

^ This. Seriously. Save a meal before bed.

Kixshots

omg yes.
I used to feel full on 1200 calories LOL , now I feel like I'm dying if I don't get 1400-1600 (0.5lbs loss a week)
can't wait until maintenance, I took a diet break a short while ago to get used to maintenance, and it rocked to eat all the foods(1600-1900) I didn't gain any weight either, so I'm looking forward to losing these last few lbs!

drew06

Are you weight training or just cardio? Like others have said, the more intense exercise you do or the higher the muscle/fat ratio you have, your body will burn more calories.

Have you tried a refeed day (cheat day)? Once a week indulge, don't count calories, just eat whatever you wan't till you feel full. (not to the point where you're bursting and need to pass out on the couch) I have found that this can help curb cravings in the coming days and does not negatively impact my weight loss (or maintenance). Of course, make sure this is only once/twice a day, one day per week, it is easy to slip back into old habits.

sfbaumgarten

In for responses! I started feeling hungrier as I approached maintenance and my appetite is bigger than ever now. I always just assumed it was all in my head.

spoiledpuppies

I'm also experiencing this. I've been in maintenance for a couple of months, and most days, I feel like I could eat nonstop. I feel much hungrier than I did while losing. I think that continuing to log may have something to do with it. If I just ate when I was actually hungry, I probably wouldn't think about food so much. But I'm working with a trainer and have a recheck for a couple of things with my doctor in the summer, so I want to log consistently until then just so I can look back and assess my results in relation to my adherence.

While losing, I had zero "cheat days" or days much over calories. In maintenance--with a much higher goal to begin with--I've had three days where I've gone significantly over due to cravings. When I've stayed a few hundred under my maintenance goal for the days following to balance things out, I've actually found that I'm less hungry with the lower goal--maybe it's all in my head.

Francl27

Ever since I've increased my goal to 1700, I end up going over a third of the time, it's ridiculous... so I hear you (I have 5 lbs to go).

Linnaea27

I was just thinking of posting the same exact thread!!

I've been losing at a little over 0.5 lb a week for the past 3 months and am 3 lbs from my goal weight. The last week or so I've been finding it a lot harder to stick to my calorie goal; partially I think it's because I've been doing more intense and longer bouts of exercise and I've been eating more because of that (my stomach might have increased in size slightly from this?!). But I also think that I'm now lighter and in better shape than I have been in years and my body is finding the experience hunger-inducing. :P

Must not give in! I'm soooooooo close! :sad:

alpine1994

Girl I've been in maintenance for a year and I'm still always hungry! I know that I eat enough (because I am maintaining my weight) but I really have to watch it. Sometimes I'll start to slack on logging and the pounds start coming on. I eat 1600-1800 on a normal day and then go over that every now and then (maybe 3X per month) and I could definitely eat way more than that. I think I just have a huge appetite which is why I was overweight in the first place.

fisherlassie

I gained 20lbs over the last year for just this reason! I starving all the time!! Even eating more. What an annoying thing! I've started to move down again but this last year has been very hard. I drink a large two cup mug of tea after meals and in-between as well as increasing vegetables and protein and decreasing sugar and grains.

ultrafishboy

Thanks for all of the insight. I seem to be overly hungry too! I know I need more proteins.

liznotyet

concentrate on Fiber and Sugar tracking. Sugar(not carbohydrates, just sugar) as low as possible, and fiber as high as possible. It will force you to eat more whole foods and vegetables.

Thanks. I need to do this.

ABsolute85

Maintenance is tough sometimes....I like to keep almonds around when I get a craving...it helps me from raiding the snack bar at work...lol

nxd10

I find when I am thinner I don't have that fat to draw on. When I'm hungry, I'm REALLY hungry right now. Fewer reserves.

I make sure I eat regularly. I also have a small snack around - nuts are good - so that when I feel hungry, I eat something. I'm not eating more over the course of the day and I don't need to eat more. I just need to eat regularly.

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Note also weather changes calorie needs a lot. When you need to regulate your temperature more you get much hungrier because you're really burning calories. If you're hungry in the spring, try putting that sweater back on.

flumi_f

Thanks for this thread! Since I've broken into the last 8lbs, I've been hungrier and have been going over a bit more often. Guess it might be the body, calling for food.